Effectiveness of Inflammatory Cytokines Induced by Sericin.pdfVIP

198 WOUNDS Silk sericin (SS), a group of glue proteins produced in the middle silkgland of the silkworm, is an essential component of the cocoon fila-ment. It is comprised of granular and high molecular weight proteins with adhesive and gelatin-like characteristics.1 Our previous study demon- strated that SS can promote reduction in wound size and increase collagen production in rats without causing any allergic reactions.2 Several studies also demonstrated the advantages of using SS in wound healing by enhanc- ing the attachment and growth of mouse fibroblasts, human skin fibroblasts, and human and mouse hybridoma in culture media.3–5 However, there are several reports on immune response that argue against silk sutures contain- ing SS proteins6–8 and assert that the SS proteins are responsible for skin irri- tation and allergies.9 The fact that SS shows no antibacterial activity may also make it less attractive for wound regeneration. Wound healing is a dynamic process that involves the integrated action of many cell types, the extracellular matrix, and chemical mediators. Wound repair can be divided into three overlapping stages: inflammation, formation Effectiveness of Inflammatory Cytokines Induced by Sericin Compared to Sericin in Combination With Silver Sulfadiazine Cream on Wound Healing Pornanong Aramwit, PharmD, PhD; Sorada Kanokpanont, PhD; Phaibul Punyarit, MD; Teerapol Srichana, PhD WOUNDS 2009;21(8):198–206 From the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand Address correspondence to: Pornanong Aramwit, PharmD, PhD Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences Chulalongkorn University 254 Phyathai Rd. Patumwan, Bangkok Thailand 10330 Phone: 66 899 217 255 E-mail: aramwit@ Abstract: Silk sericin (SS) has been shown to promote collagen syn- thesis during wound healing, but it lacks antimicrobial activity. We investigated the effectiveness and the induction of the inflammatory mediators IL-1β and TNF-α by SS, silver sulfadia